At the new provincial hospital, Shirley received her test results and beamed with joy.

Ye Zhiqiang was still a little confused when he received Xue Li's call. Pregnant? "Are you sure?"

"I just came from the hospital. Are you... coming over tonight?" Shirley asked in a slightly coquettish tone.

"Of course." Although Shirley had never been to school, she was intelligent. After studying in the city for a few years, she could read and write. Most importantly, she was healthy, so her children would definitely be both smart and strong. As for Tianbao, he had long forgotten about him.

Ye Zhiqiang returned from the construction site more than an hour early. Upon seeing the test results, he smiled with satisfaction. "You should take good care of yourself at home and give me a son. I won't mistreat you and your child."

"Don't you like our daughter?" Shirley pouted and acted coquettishly.

"Of course not, I love any child you give birth to." Ye Zhiqiang hugged Xue Li and coaxed her.

There was something Ye Zhiqiang hadn't told anyone: he had fallen in love with Li Jiaojiao at first sight, feeling as if he had met his destined one. His feelings for his eldest daughter, Jingjing, were so-so, but not entirely absent, as she was his first child. As for Tianbao, he was even more so, his son. He didn't know why, but after Li Jiaojiao became pregnant, he had an urge to give her the whole world. The more he looked at Shuyan and the two children, the more they bothered him. That's why he was so easily threatened by Shuyan and, without a second thought, gave up custody of the two children.

It wasn't until Li Jiaojiao miscarried that Ye Zhiqiang suddenly came to his senses. He felt as if he had been under a spell. Although he didn't seem to have changed on the surface, he was actually quite wary of Li Jiaojiao.

Li Jiaojiao's miscarriage did damage her body, but it didn't render her unable to conceive again. He bribed the doctor and gave her infertility medication while she was recovering from her miscarriage.

He hadn't told anyone about this, not even his parents. He was worried when Shirley got pregnant, but he didn't feel anything, so he was sure that only Li Jiaojiao would do this.

"What's wrong with you?" Shirley was imagining what the baby would be like after birth when she noticed that Ye Zhiqiang hadn't responded, so she tugged at him.

"It's nothing. You must be hungry. Let's go eat first. What would you like to eat?" As for Li Jiaojiao waiting for him at home, Ye Zhiqiang had long forgotten about her.

After Ye Zhiqiang made money in the new province, he built a villa here. In the restaurant, Li Jiaojiao was alone facing a large table of dishes. Today was her birthday, but the person who promised to come back to celebrate her birthday did not return.

"Madam, the food is getting cold. Should I heat it up?" the maid asked cautiously.

"No need." Li Jiaojiao gripped the tablecloth tightly, her eyes slightly red. 'You shameless bitch, trying to steal my man? No way!'

Shu Yan immediately found out what had happened to Ye Zhiqiang. "It's good that Xue Li is pregnant. Ye Zhiqiang definitely won't have any designs on Tianbao now."

As for how Shirley will rise to power, and how Li Jiaojiao will defend her position, those are none of her business.

"Don't worry, Ye Zhiqiang's business partner definitely hopes his cousin can have a baby too." Fang Zeyu didn't want Ye Zhiqiang to disrupt their peaceful and happy life.

With the company's affairs settled down and the two children about to start their holidays, Shu Yan still had to attend parent-teacher meetings at the school. Tian Bao's situation was simple, as it was an elite kindergarten where children that young were mainly focused on playing. Jing Jing, however, had a more demanding experience. When she was at the Second Elementary School, she had to attend tutoring classes for over a semester because she couldn't keep up with her classmates. But when she arrived here, she found that she was still lagging behind most of her classmates.

The children here come from well-off families, so they are nurtured from a young age. Needless to say, their academic performance is excellent, and each of them has outstanding talents. Jingjing's deskmate has already reached the tenth level in piano. Shuyan was afraid that her daughter would be discouraged, so she comforted her for a long time.

Now Jingjing is focused on learning dance and languages. She originally learned English, but after entering Nanshan Elementary School, she learned French at the suggestion of her teacher. Shuyan had told her long ago that if she didn't want to learn it, she could stop, since people's energy is limited and there was no need to force herself. Unexpectedly, Jingjing herself quite likes it.

A semester has passed, and thanks to Jingjing's hard work, her grades are now around 20th in the class. There are about 30 students in their class, and Shuyan is quite satisfied because the top ten students are almost perfect, with only a few tenths of a point or a point missing. Most importantly, the Nanshan Elementary School test papers are really difficult. Shuyan glanced at them a few times when she signed them before and even doubted whether she had attended a fake elementary school. Some of the questions she felt she had only learned in junior high school were actually on the second-grade test papers.

With her current grades, Jingjing would definitely rank in the top 20 in her grade at No. 2 Elementary School. If she were to use No. 2 Elementary School's test papers, she would definitely be in the top 5. It's not that No. 2 Elementary School is bad, it's just that the teaching methods are different. Shuyan also hesitated about whether to let Jingjing go back to No. 2 Elementary School, but in the end she gave up.

While a happy approach to raising children is certainly good, it's not good for their future. They still need to continue learning.

In class, Jingjing was an average student. She was neither praised nor criticized, so every time Shuyan came to a parent-teacher conference, she would just sit and listen, and had little presence.

"Hello, my sweetie's mom, are you Jingjing's mom?"

Sweetie is the classmate who is a grade 10 pianist. She is as sweet as her name suggests, and she also has a sweet mouth.

"Yes, hello Sweetie's mom." It was always Sweetie's dad who came to parent-teacher conferences before, this was the first time I'd met her mom. How to put it, her individual features weren't particularly pretty, but together they were very beautiful and elegant. In Shu Yan's hometown, they would say she was very charming.

"I've heard Tian Tian mention you before, but I've been too busy to attend the parent-teacher conference. I'm so glad to finally see you today." Tian Tian's mother's voice was also very pleasant.

After chatting for a while, Shu Yan learned that Tian Tian's mother owned a beauty chain, so she wasn't surprised that Tian Tian was so enthusiastic and talkative.

"This is our store's VIP membership card. Come to the store later and try it out, then give me your feedback," Sweetie's mother said in a very pleasant tone.

"Then I won't be polite." She had heard of this beauty salon, but had never been there.

The beauty salon she frequents now was recommended by Hu Ruixue; it's more upscale, mainly because the skincare there is indeed very effective. Shu Yan has no plans to switch salons; she'll just go to Hu Ruixue's place later to get a membership card as a way of showing her support.

"After talking for so long, I still don't know what you do for a living?" Sweetie's mother asked with a smile.

"I own my own clothing company and make a little money, but it's nothing compared to what you guys do," Shu Yan said with a smile.

Although Shu Yan said that, Tian Tian's mother certainly didn't take it seriously. If she really just ran a small company, how could she possibly get into Nanshan Elementary School?

If Tian Tian's piano talent is exceptional, then her academic performance is truly abysmal. Perhaps all her talent is focused on the piano. She came in last place again in the exam. Usually, it's Tian Tian's father who gets criticized, but today Tian Tian's mother came over and was also singled out by the teacher, who told her to focus on her child's education at home and not neglect her child's grades just because she's busy.

Sweetie's mother kept smiling. When the parent-teacher meeting ended, she politely said goodbye to Shuyan, grabbed Sweetie's hand, and left. Shuyan frowned slightly as she watched Sweetie jog to keep up with her mother.

“Mommy, Sweetie’s mommy is definitely going to hit her again,” Jingjing said earnestly.

"Sweetie's mom hits people?" She looked very friendly with a smile.

"Well, Tian Tian said her dad rarely comes home and rarely cares about her. Her mom said it's because her grades are bad that her dad doesn't come home, and he beats her every time he finds out her grades." Jing Jing used to envy the children in the city, but after she came to the city, she realized that not every child is happy.

"Doesn't her father always come to parent-teacher conferences?" If he rarely cared about her, he probably wouldn't even come to the conferences.

Jingjing tilted her head. "Tiantian said her dad didn't attend the parent-teacher conference for her sake." As for why, Jingjing didn't know.

Now that you put it that way, Shu Yan understands. They probably came to meet someone or to build connections. It's just a pity for the little girl to have such parents.

Even though she felt sorry for the little girl, she was still someone else's child, and Shu Yan had no right to interfere. She sighed and said, "Let's go pick up your brother."

"Mother!"

"Hmm?" Shu Yan looked down at Jing Jing.

Jingjing smiled but didn't say anything, secretly whispering "I love you" in her heart.

Last year during the Spring Festival, since she didn't have any relatives here, Shu Yan simply took the children to Beijing for a trip. This year is different. One reason is that her relationship with Fang Zeyu has changed a lot, and another reason is that Shu Li is here.

Shu Yan couldn't bring herself to have Fang Zeyu spend the New Year at her house, leaving the old lady alone. She'd rather move to her own yard and have the New Year's Eve dinner at the old lady's house.

It just so happens that Shuli didn't plan to go back home for the New Year either, so Shuyan asked her to bring the children over to celebrate the New Year together, because it would be more lively with more people.

On the 27th, when the old lady heard that Shu Yan and her sister were coming to celebrate the New Year, she patted Fang Zeyu and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? There's no preparation at home."

"I'll buy the groceries, there's nothing else to prepare." He and his mother had already cleaned the house, and they could buy the groceries tomorrow or the day after. Fang Zeyu couldn't think of anything else to prepare.

"How can that be? The house has already been cleaned, but it still doesn't look right. You and I will clean it all over again, inside and out. Also, we need to finalize the menu. We can't be as casual as we were in previous years." In the past, it was just the two of them, and they would just cook a few dishes and that would be enough for the New Year. This year is different.

Upon learning that she would be spending the Chinese New Year at the home of Fang Zeyu's adopted grandmother, Shu Li thought for a moment and then agreed.

“Although this old lady isn’t Fang Zeyu’s biological grandmother, she’s better than his own. If you want to be with Fang Zeyu, treat her well. Actually, you don’t need to serve her. Just visit her during holidays and express your feelings, and Fang Zeyu will be happy.” Shu Li pulled Shu Yan aside to share her experience.

"I understand."

Shu Yan did the same. No matter what the holiday, she would prepare a gift and send it to the old lady. Moreover, the old lady's clothes and shoes were all prepared by Shu Yan, which were just things she bought while shopping, and they didn't cost much.

Even without Fang Zeyu's involvement, Shu Yan would still try her best to take care of the old lady once she knew about her deeds.

Usually it's just Jingjing and Tianbao, but now Niu Niu and Ping An are here too, and the two children are overjoyed.

After the family finished their New Year's Eve dinner, the four children played with firecrackers in the yard, while the adults sat in the living room watching TV and chatting. The children's laughter could be heard from time to time, occasionally interspersed with the old lady's concerned calls...

Last year, Shu Yan didn't visit Hu Ruixue for the New Year, and she complained about it for a whole year. This year, Shu Yan went to wish her a Happy New Year early.